Nth Cycle, a metals processing and recycling technology company, has been awarded a $2.15-million grant from the DOE under the Battery Materials and Battery Manufacturing and Recycling Funding Opportunity (BMBMR) program. 

According to the company, its low-emission refining technology, called electro-extraction, transforms the outputs of metal scrap, electronics recycling, untapped mining resources and waste from existing mines into critical minerals ready to be used in the production of lithium-ion batteries. Electro-extraction is a cleaner, more efficient and lower-cost alternative to the conventional and prohibitively dirty pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy processes currently used by battery recyclers and miners.

Nth Cycle says its refining technology produces 92% fewer emissions than traditional mining and refining processes and 44% fewer emissions than other recycling technologies.

Nth Cycle’s refining technology is designed to convert disassembled waste materials into high-grade feedstocks for new battery manufacturing in the form of nickel mixed hydroxide product (MHP).

“Recent legislation mandates the deployment of a compliant supply of critical minerals like nickel and cobalt that are mined, refined or recycled locally. Unfortunately, there’s not enough compliant supply today to meet America’s increasing demand for electrification,” said Megan O’Connor, co-founder and CEO of Nth Cycle. “We expect Nth Cycle’s electro-extraction technology to be a pivotal solution in closing the resulting gap between supply and demand for domestic critical materials through cost-effective, efficient and environmentally-conscious refining at home. The DOE’s BMBMR program will help us and others accelerate those efforts.”

Source: Nth Cycle